Add entity name as comment after numeric ID in YAML configuration

[Didgeridrew]

@leclerck2001

Since Home Assistant version 2025.6, YAML configuration files have moved away from using human-readable entity IDs in favor of numeric references

This has been the case for Device-based triggers, conditions, and actions since they were introduced. If you want the entity ID in plain text use Entity-based components.

Why and how to avoid device_ids in automations and scripts

Background When you start writing automations, a device trigger seems the obvious choice. Everybody knows what a device is and it comes at the top of the UI dropdown list. [image] It works… but it is certainly not a “great way to start” because it is storing up problems for the future. Far better to use an entity, with state or numeric_state. This topic is part of the community-driven cookbook where you can find other topics you might be interested in or might like to contribute to. Devi…

@leclerck2001

Automatic Comment Generation: When Home Assistant writes or updates YAML files containing numeric entity references, automatically append a comment with the entity’s friendly name and/or entity ID.

Everything you see in the UI is serialized as JSON, which does not support comments.

There are multiple threads about this kind of thing ( 1, 2, 3 )

Comments are supported if you just use pure YAML, but the trade off is that you can’t use the UI editors.